1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to building structures and methods for constructing such structures, and, more particularly, to wall assemblies and methods for constructing wall assemblies. The invention also relates to building blocks and to means for connecting neighboring building blocks together.
2. Reference to Prior Art
Wall structures or assemblies made of building blocks are generally well known. Typically, building blocks are arranged in vertically stacked horizontal rows to form the wall. Conventional building blocks are usually made of Portland cement and suitable aggregates combined with water and may also include other admixtures. Ordinary building blocks can be inexpensively made in a variety of sizes and configurations, making them a popular construction material.
The construction of walls or other structures made of building blocks has required skilled masons to insure that a wall structure made of concrete or masonry blocks is level, that the blocks in the structure are properly aligned, and that mortar or other such bonding materials are properly used. Use of such skilled labor results in high construction costs, and there exists a need for an assembly by which wall structures, and the like, may be quickly and easily erected without the use of mortar or other such bonding material, allowing a reduction in the expense of skilled labor.
Wall assemblies which are made of preformed building blocks and which include means other than mortar or other bonding materials for connecting the building blocks together are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,922, issued to Clark; U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,342, issued to Salisbury., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,628, issued to Schlomann.
It is sometimes desirable to construct a wall having a solid core of concrete. A wall assembly which includes concrete hollow core masonry blocks or blocks having spaces or cavities in them, and which has concrete filling these spaces to form a solid, voidless wall, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,949, issued to Crespo, where concrete is poured into chambers in the building blocks to form columns. There exists a need for an assembly by which concrete filled wall structures may be quickly and easily erected without the use of skilled labor.